IMO grain and artifacts are a tool, like any other part of the post processing pipeline. Those tools can be abused, but they aren't valueless. I'd think that mo

IMO grain and artifacts are a tool, like any other part of the post processing pipeline. Those tools can be abused, but they aren't valueless. I'd think that most people reach for these tools for two reasons, adding detail to bland sets, or adding authenticity to your setting. Our brains are weird and sometimes seeing less of the scene allows your mind to fill in the gaps better than the budget allows a texture artist or a set designer to do. The lack of post processing in general is what gives bad games that Unity Engine look that people hate. As for the other reason, it's sort of like how we perceive people as older due to the clothing they wear and their hair style, our cultural reference for how old a piece of media is can be tricked by the mimicking the imperfections of the filming techniques of the time. Take a photo of old brick building with a Polaroid camera and ask folks when that was shot, I would bet that most folks would say 80s or 90s more than the 2020s.